Building a car costs less in Morocco than in any other country covered by a new global automotive study. The average labour cost per vehicle was $106 in Morocco in 2024, according to a report by global consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Romania came next at $273 per vehicle, followed by Mexico at $305, Turkey at $414 and China at $597.
The difference was much bigger in major European car-producing countries. Labour costs reached $1,569 per vehicle in France, $2,067 in Italy, $2,333 in the UK and $3,307 in Germany.
The figures come from Oliver Wyman’s Getting Under the Hood of Automotive Labor Cost Per Vehicle report, published in May 2025. The study looked at more than 250 car assembly plants around the world.
The $106 figure does not mean it costs only $106 to build a car in Morocco. It measures labour cost per vehicle and takes both wages and factory productivity into account.
Car production in Morocco also grew by 29% between 2019 and 2024, the highest increase among the countries included in the study.
Several major European car producers moved in the opposite direction. Production fell by 36% in France, 34% in Italy, 31% in the UK and 13% in Germany over the same period.
Morocco has become an important production base for French carmakers. Renault and Stellantis both have major factories in the country, including plants in Tangier and Kenitra.
The study links the low labour cost to three main factors: lower wages, higher factory productivity and growing production volumes.
Labour is also only part of the cost of making a car. Total conversion costs include workers, energy, maintenance, equipment, depreciation and production supplies. Labour makes up about 65% to 70% of these costs.
The findings come as carmakers face pressure to reduce costs. The industry is dealing with weaker electric-vehicle demand, growing competition from Chinese manufacturers, tariffs and changes in supply chains.
The study also shows how much labour costs vary between different types of carmakers. Average labour cost per vehicle stood at $2,232 for premium European manufacturers, $1,660 for electric-vehicle-only manufacturers, $880 for mainstream manufacturers and $585 for Chinese carmakers.
The $106 figure puts Morocco at the bottom of the labour-cost scale among the individual production locations covered by the study.
